Middle East International School November 2018

MIS is:

Internationally accredit-

ed by AdvancED, USA

Nationally accredited by

QNSA

Licensed to operate in

Qatar

Providing the American

curriculum based on the

Common Core

Standards

Welcomes students,

teachers and families of

all nationalities.

Qatar National Day—25th Anniversary

of Middle East International School

We will be celebrating Qatar National Day on December 13 with a School

Fair. Please save the date for this exciting new event celebrating 25

years of Middle East International School!

Dear Parents,

As many of you may know, MIS is pursuing a new accreditation. Why? First, we want to

align with the Ministry of Education’s current choices for preferred accreditations. Second,

we feel we need to change because the world is so rapidly changing. We know that we

cannot prepare students for the world we live in, but rather we must prepare them for a

multitude of possible futures. We must respond to the global, digital world where learning

can happen anywhere, any time. And, we must be true to our statements of being

student-centered where students are authentically engaged in their learning.

In order to do this, we examined several options for a new accreditation. Many were

checklist orientated where evidence of a handbook, schedule, budget, curriculum and other

typical school processes must be shown. We have all those documents and those

accreditations would be easy to pursue. But, just as we ask your students to challenge

themselves to learn each day, we wanted to challenge ourselves as adults. So, we chose

NEASC-ACE to focus our work on critical thinking, problem solving and creativity. NEASC-

ACE also focuses on enhancing the digital environment which is our mission. As our stu-

dents go on their journey after high school, these skills will propel them to success. So, we

have accepted the challenge of making some changes as adult learners to grow and help

students be ready for a future we cannot predict. A future that could take them any where

in the world.

I hope you will talk with teachers about the journey

they are on as learners and give them your heartfelt

encouragement and support. Learning can be a

struggle and doing things differently a bit of a

challenge. But, I know our dedicated, professional

staff will invest in their learning because they know

that they are leading the way for students.

Regards,

Dr. Sue

Head of School

MIS ANNOUNCES THIRD

OVERSEAS TRAVEL

OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH

SCHOOL STUDENTS

Our first two trips are for students to visit sister schools

abroad. This year, we are adding a third option to perform

service in the Czech Republic in Prague. All three trips hap-

pen during Spring Break, so students will have to chose. If

you are interested in this opportunity for your high school stu-

dent, please email Ms. Tessy at tessy.manalil@misqatar.com.

November- December

Events November 1

End of Quarter 1

November 8

Early Dismissal @ 12:30 p.m.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

1st Quarter Report Card Distribution

**MAP results with report cards

December 13

Early Dismissal @ 12:30 p.m.

School Fair (evening event for all)

December 18

Qatar National Day

December 23

Start of Winter Break

Being Accredited

Being accredited shows the staff and school commitment to excellence.

Like students, staff should always be engaged in growing and develop-

ing professionally. There is an analogy, “Would you want your doctor to

operate on you the same way she did ten years ago?” The answer is

obviously, “No.” In education, although there are some tried and true

methods, our field continues to change and our continuous improvement

as adults drives how well students achieve.

Parent Survey

Please ensure your parent survey is

completed by November 1. The results

will be shared in the next newsletter.

Email

As a part of our service to you, we provide our correspondence via

email. Please make sure that we have your updated email.

If you do not receive anything from us, please check your child’s book

bag for something requesting your email or send us an email at

misadmin@misqatar.com with your child ’s name and grade.

When we have your email, you receive:

Lesson Plans

Newsletters

Special Announcements

Event Updates

Community Opportunities

Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 8 our staff will be available for Parent-Teacher Conferences.

In order to help organize conferences, we offer them at different times.

Kindergarten Conferences will be held from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Elementary Conferences (Grades 1-5) will be held from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Middle School Conferences (Grades 6-8) will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

High School Conferences (Grades 9-12) will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

There are many teachers who teach across the sections. These teachers

work three hours so that they cross over both the elementary and middle/

high school times.

Arabic, French and Arabic for non-speakers as well as Islamic Studies

teachers can be found in the auditorium on this evening.

Please see the articles in page 6 of the newsletter for information on hav-

ing a great conference.

Busing

Please know that we

are experiencing

some late bus routes. These bus routes

start at the earliest possible time (5:40

a.m.) which means we have few options

with the start time of the route. We are

working to adjust the path buses take.

In addition, please help us by having your

student at the stop ON TIME. When a bus

has to wait for even a few students on the

route, the whole route is late—making for

unhappy parents and students of those

who were on time.

www.misqatar.com

Investing in MIS

We have been making some investments as the school

year continues! Here are some new additions in

October and November:

We have ordered a new water bottle machine.

Students can purchase water throughout the day

from the machine at their passing time.

New storage for the middle school students to hold

backpacks and lunch bags.

Water Bottles

Please ensure your child has a water bottle

each day to stay hydrated.

High School Opportunities

As students build their college resume at MIS, there are

many opportunities for them to participate in. Here is a list

of the current opportunities in the high school. More are

added each month.

Robotics Club

College Fairs

China Trip

USA Trip

Public Speaking

Club

Gaming Club

Student Council

National Geography Bee/Bowl

Qatar Olympics

National History Bee/Bowl

Model United Nations

Scientific Book Forum

Qatar Debate

SEHHA

Farming Your Community

Odyssey of the Mind

Destination Imagination

World Scholars Cup

National Day Program (Qatari students)

Arabic Poetry Contest

Qatar Scientific Research Foundation

Accreditation Visit

Between October 8-11, MIS hosted Mr. Jonathan and Dr. Kevin

from NEASC-ACE. MIS is currently accredited with both QNSA

and AdvancED. However, MIS is pursuing an accreditation that

focuses on the growth of the organization in its goals,

measures and practices. This is the first of many visits for the

process as the process is intensely rigorous.

Arabic Studies—Future

Writers Competition

On October 9, students from the middle and high school

attended the Future Writers Competition with Mr. Ahmed,

high school Arabic teacher. This is part of encouraging

better and higher level Arabic learning.

October Students

of the Month

KG—Omar Sherif Elsayed Elazhary

Grade 1—Ahmad Qayyim Syukri

Grade 2—Marwan Islam Elgoridy

Grade 3—Lolwa Ghanem Al Sahlawi

Grade 4—Rob Tristan Hernandez

Grade 5—Yahya Sayed Abdelmoniem

Grade 6—Keisha Aqila Arfanidya

Grade 7—Amal Omar Ibrahim

Grade 8—Luzienne Mitz Calsado

Grade 9—Menna Khaled Elsaid

Grade 10—Dalal Mahmoud Hassan

Grade 11—Diala Iyad Budeir

Grade 12—Ahmed Hani Dawud

Thank you to these outstanding students for

being role models socially and academically

for their peers. They helped us start our

school year in a very positive way!

USA Student Trip

The planning for our USA Trip

continues. Ms. Anie held the

second meeting with students

on October. The itinerary and

travel behavior contract for the parents' perusal and

consent were sent with the students.

Final deadline for payment is December 20. Your

child cannot go on the trip if payment is not made to

the Accounts Office before this date.

Attendance, grades, MAP scores, uniform policy

adherence and behavior may all be a part of the

selection of students for overseas school trips.

Points of Pride

40% of high school students are taking an AP Class

50% of teachers have their masters degree; all teachers

have a bachelors (in education) degree

One teacher is pursuing her Masters in Educational Admin-

istration.

Our staff includes teachers from Burkina Faso, Ukraine,

USA, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Kenya, Pakistan

and Jordan.

New Programs at Middle School

High School Choir and Band with Ms. Anna

Odyssey of the Mind (OM)

Qatar Olympics

World Scholars Cup

There is also an engineering field trip coming up. Please ask

your student if they are going and complete the necessary field

trip permission form.

USA University Fair

On October 14, all seniors traveled to experience the USA

University Fair in Education City to meet with representatives of

Duke, Manhattan College, University of California-Berkeley,

Middle Tennessee State, Illinois Institute of Technology, and

others. This exposed our seniors to university programs across

the USA. Lots of opportunities to examine universities at MIS!

Birthday Reminder—Elementary

For our parents, if you wish to send something for a birthday,

please email the teacher at least 3 days in advance. The

teacher will share the school schedule and guide you toward a

time that is best for all students.

Birthday treats dropped off at all other times will be at our

discretion. Usually, we will save them for the last 10 minutes of

the day.

Please understand that a birthday celebration with 25 students

involves cleanup and organization outside the normal routines.

It also involves lost learning time. We have 295 elementary

students and we want to work as a team.

Grading Your Work As parents, you know that the school will provide

you with several reports on your students pro-

gress throughout the school year. But, we also

thought it might be interesting to have you reflect

on the start of the year for our working relation-

ship. Give yourself one point for each of the

things you are doing to work with the school

and see how you do.

I have emailed the teacher with any ques-

tions, comments or concerns before con-

tacting the principal.

I know my child’s attendance.

Early dismissal days are in my personal

calendar to pick up my child at 12:30 p.m.

I know school starts at 7:15 a.m.

I have logged into One Drive to see lesson

plans.

I read the first three parent newsletters.

I have looked at the school organizational

chart in the Student-Parent Handbook.

I have read the Parent-Student Handbook.

I ask questions to learn new information.

I have Parent-Teacher Conference dates in

my personal calendar.

Give yourself an A+ if you scored answered “yes”

to all ten questions.

Give yourself an A– for “yes” to nine questions.

Given yourself a B if you answered “yes” to 7-8

questions!

And, for anything else, we are here to support

you. Please reach out to your child’s teacher with

questions.

How do we use MAP testing?

The Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) is given to all

students in Grade 1-11. We use MAP to:

Measure ourselves nationally and internationally

Show you the growth of your student

Determine Honors sections

Determine Gifted and Talented Programming

Determine part of eligibility for overseas travel

Advise students about their readiness for Advanced

Placement courses

Measure how students who have been with MIS for

multiple years look as compared to students starting

with us after attending other schools.

Ms. Jocelyn Accepts Award

from Al Faisal Without Borders

On October 2, Ms. Jocelyn (Grade 5) accepted an award for

the outstanding work of MIS students and staff in both

Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination from

Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani. MIS is proud to work

with Al Faisal Without Borders as a quality program here in

Qatar. We look forward to expanding our work with them this

year through Farm Your Community.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Roles in the Parent-Teacher Conference

Parents:

Learn about their children's progress in school

Recognize the teacher as someone working on your child's behalf each

day - respect them.

Seek solutions collaboratively

Participate in developing an action plan, if needed

Clarify how you will communicate with the teacher

Teachers:

Show examples of student work and examples of expected levels of

performance

Ask questions about what the parent sees the student struggling with

Gain insights into their student's home and community lives

Gain an understanding of parent perceived strengths and needs

Share ideas for supporting student learning at home

Together:

Develop new strategies collaboratively to support student learning at school

Ensure clear, future communication directly from the teacher to the parent

Top 10 Questions to Ask

1. How is my child doing socially?

2. How is my child doing emotionally?

3. What academic progress have you seen?

4. What do you think my child is good at?

5. Is my child at grade level?

6. Is my child doing their best?

7. Does my child need any extra help?

8. How can I help?

9. Can I share a concern?

10. How can I contact you?

Student Council

Representatives

Middle School

6A – Ryan Ahmad Sleiti

6B – Dave Stanley Lasono

6C – Marwan Mamdouh Elmaghraby

7A – Hassan Mohamed Osman

7B – Muhammad Sulthan

7C – Wajd Nashat Alrabadi

8A – Ranyshia Wiley

8B – Nohe Girmay Kidane

8C – Luzienne Knoll Mitz

Pres: Luzienne Knoll Mitz Calsado

Vice: Mohammed Sulthan Al Bukhari

Sec: Ranyshia Wiley Agpalasin

Thank you to these students for taking on

a leadership role. They will be working as

part of a larger team to organize special

days at school, field trips and help us

identify some of the needs the current

students in middle school have.

Core Values

Responsibility

Integrity

Community

Empathy

Need to email a teacher?

Our Staff Email List is available on

the website.

Teacher Feature: Ms. Philippa,

Our Middle School Principal

Ms. Philippa Munton start-ed her career as an Illustra-tor after gaining a Bachelor of Honors in Illustration from Loughborough Univer-sity, UK. During her time as a student, she won a Royal Academy Scholarship for Animation, was awarded Animation Student of the Year. As an illustrator, she was a finalist for Artist of the Year and has won open arts competitions.

She then went on to earn her Teaching Credential in Secondary Arts (Post Grad-uate Certificate of Educa-tion (PGCE) at the University of Wales, Bangor, UK. She worked in schools in the city of Dundee in Scotland, UK teaching Art, and then as Head of Department at a school in North Wales teaching Art and Photography, ICT and leading both athletic and cross country teams. Whilst teaching, she has been nominated for the UK Pearson’s Teacher of the Year Award, led trips to overseas for students and staff, and her students have won many local, national and international competitions. Ms. Philippa furthered her career as she com-pleted her Master’s in Educational Leadership and Manage-ment from Manchester University, UK.

She is starting her fifth year in Qatar and has joined MIS as the Middle School Principal and Head of the PE department. She is also an avid sports fan and participant, spending her weekends participating in triathlon, bike and running races in Qatar.

Student Council

High School

Student Council President: Mouhmmad Yaman

Ayman Swai

Vice President: Sarah Irshad Khan

Secretary: Habib Allah Mahdi Ali Hatim

Treasurer: Abdelrahman Mohamed Sami

Kassem

Activity Coordinators: Delphina Ayeki Arthur

and Aleyna Sarakurt

Sports Coordinators: Nunurayi Gerald Paul

Matimba and Rachel Denise Vallo Mangligot

Representatives:

Grade 9 - Lukman Ayman Swai

Grade 10 - Amira Al Aswadi

Grade 11 - Sean Michael

Grade 12 - Gaser Mahmoud Amin Deyab

Learning Together

Ms. Alaa, Mr. Elliot, Ms. Princely, Ms. Asiya,

Dr. Sue and Ms. Shondale recently attended the

National Teaching and Learning Forum. Over

1600 educators from around the world participat-

ed in this one day event with leading experts.

Dr. Sue was also a presenter sharing information

on using data for decision making.

Qatar Poetry Contest

Two of our students, Saoud Al-Obaidli (Grade 4) and Yousef Al

Murqeb (Grade 5), recently participated in the Qatar Poetry Con-

test. Winners of the contest will be announced at a later date.

Discipline Techniques for Pre-teens

Is your little one turning into a messy pre-teen with every passing day?

Has he/she been reacting arrogantly, disobeying instructions? If you

nodded along in agreement, here are effective discipline techniques for

your pre-teen.

Have house rules—Set the rules for your house and make sure he/she

understands and follows them. Keep it clear that contributing to the

household chores is not a choice.

Rewards work wonders—Have a behavioral contract with your little

one and reward them with extra privileges or gifts of your time, if they

abide by those rules and are disciplined.

Use If….Then….Else Statement—They are old enough to understand

the action-consequence relation, so start using ‘If…then’ statements

that will outline the consequences of any unacceptable behavior. This

will also help them to learn self-discipline.

Be a role-model—Pre-teens learn from what they see. So, make sure

you lead a life that serves as a worthy role-model. Keep your calm even

under stressful situations.

Use the calm approach—Make it a practice and an unwritten rule at

home that things get done only when you’re calm. Also make sure you

practice this and don’t lose your cool when they are not following any of

the rules you’ve laid.

School Fees

Thank you to the vast

majority of our parents for

paying school fees by the

deadline. We very much

appreciate your diligence!

If you have not paid your

school fees, a late fee is

applied beginning on

November 1, 2017.

Qatar Debates

Students from high school are preparing to participate in Qatar Debates

in Arabic. The program involves students attending a training session,

then attending competitions. In the competitions, students receive a top-

ic, have time to prepare/research their possible arguments and then,

they debate against other teams from across the country. These boys

pictured below will be debating soon!

China Student Trip

The planning for our China Trip continues.

Mr. Jimmy will be leading the trip this

year. The itinerary and travel behavior

contract for the parents' perusal and con-

sent were sent with the students.

Final deadline for payment is December

20. Your child cannot go on the trip if pay-

ment is not made to the Accounts Office

before this date.

Attendance, grades, MAP scores, uniform

policy adherence and behavior may all be

a part of the selection of high school stu-

dents for overseas school trips.

SEHHA

Each year, Qatari students at MIS partici-

pate in the Science Education and Human

Health Activity (SEHHA) at Hamad.

This year, Reem Al Baker, Maryam

Abdulla, Maryam Al Dafaa, Hessa Al

Madeed and Shaikha Al Hilal have signed

up for SEHHA which will help them earn

30 community service hours. Good work

ladies! Thank you for giving back!

Standards-Based Grading at KG and Elementary Levels

A standards-based report card emphasizes learning instead of earning marks.

For example, when young readers first learn to read, they learn the difference between pictures and words. Next,

they learn that words in English go from left to right and top to bottom. Then, they learn many sight words. And,

finally, they can read a sentence. Moving through each step to becoming a reader means mastering a new stand-

ard. Standards help you know what your child is learning and what they need to learn next.

Each quarter, we will provide students multiple opportunities to practice, attain, and demonstrate proficiency on the

standards. In a standards-based classroom, the focus is on a student’s performance over multiple opportunities be-

yond the grading and averaging of tests and quizzes. Hence, the report card will accurately communicate achieve-

ment of learning standards to students, parents, and educators.

Through the identification of clear standards, a student’s knowledge and skills will be measured on a continual ba-

sis, stretching students to perform at their highest level of potential. Teachers will collect evidence of a child’s

achievement through careful observations, examination of the students’ work, discussions, projects, performance

tasks, quizzes, and tests. Teachers will record information about each child’s progress on a frequent basis, analyze

and compile that information, and finally use the data to evaluate each child’s progress toward attainment of the

standard. Therefore, the grade for each semester will communicate a student’s progress as compared to where we

would expect him/her to be at that moment in time.

Social/emotional development grades will be reported separately from proficiency grades. They are an integral

piece of the report card as they reflect the degree to which a student demonstrates behaviors in the areas of effort

and work ethic, attitude and decision making, as well as preparedness for learning.

Standards have been developed for the core subjects in Grades 1-5 for each quarter. The purpose of these are to

assist students and parents in understanding what the specific learning expectations are for students to be consid-

ered proficient at each grade level in each skill area at each quarter. These learning expectations may grow or in-

crease as the school year progresses and more content/skills are introduced.

If you have questions regarding standards-based report cards, please email me at susan.borden@misqatar.com.

Art in Elementary

Elementary art is off to a fantastic start this year! Students are working on projects to learn the basics.

What do students think of our music program?

Here are some thoughts from our elementary students as they experience music for the first time:

“I love music! I learned about beats and notes.”

“Music is my favorite period because we read notes, play instruments, and sometimes sing.”

“I always wanted to learn how to play guitar. I am so happy that we are taking music.”

“I love music because we get to learn songs and words we don’t know.”

“I learned how to draw a G clef.”

“We learn how to listen in music to hear the beat.”

Music education is valuable to math education and to helping a student grow in their ability to work with others as

music requires the ability to work as a team. Thank you to our music staff Ms. Dina and Ms. Anna for all your work to

build our music program!

Qatar 4th

National Astronomy Olympiad (QNAO)

Students from MIS will “Talk to the Stars” as part of the national astronomy competition.

Blazing Comets—Middle School Team

Luzienne Calsado

Ranyshia Wiley

Yousef Abbas

Aseel Hesham

Fares Ahmed

Gabrielle Orosco

Galaxy Invaders—High School Team

Gusti Faturahman Rais

Keara Denise Recolizado

Tair Kezdekbayev

Usaid Ali Syed

Menna Khaled Elsaid

As part of the competition, students will participate in four different events during the 1st and 2nd semester in-cluding a planetarium training session (the virtual sky), lecture on the stars in the Arabic heritage, a live-sky and constellation training session and a live test on the sky and constellations.

Preparing to Lead: Astronomy

As our classroom teachers lead many outside of school

activities, it is important to note not only the extra hours they

work with students, but also the extra training they attend

to be qualified to lead the many opportunities offered.

Pictured below are Mr. Jimmy and Ms. Princely receiving

their certificates for preparing to lead the astronomy

learning.

Middle school students get

to harness their engineering

skills in the Engineering for

Kids program with the help

of Ms. Anshu and Ms. Rhia.

Engineering for Kids

Book Character Day!

KG and elementary students celebrated Book Character Day on

October 25, back to back with the middle school’s literacy and

sports house competition.

Readers Become Leaders